Jose Pozo is only 18 years of age and remains a hot prospect at Manchester City.

They saw enough of him during his time in the academy system at Real Madrid to suggest that he is capable of being a Premier League star of the future.

It looks like a cautious approach will be required, though, as they endeavour to ease the youngster into the English top-flight.

His big break arrived on Saturday when Sergio Aguero picked up an unfortunate injury against Everton.

Manuel Pellegrini was prepared to throw a teenage forward on in place of his top marksman, but gave him just 56 minutes before deciding that the more experienced Edin Dzeko would be a better option up top as City sought to close the game out.

To suffer the ignominy of being hauled off after entering a game as a substitute at this early stage of his career is unlikely to have done much for Pozo’s confidence.

This is, however, all part of a steep learning curve for a man still getting to grips with the demands of senior football.

Match

Touches

Unsuccessful Touch

Poss Lost All

Total Pass

Duel Lost

Mins Played

Jose Pozo

Man City vs Everton

18

2

6

8

8

56

Pozo clearly has much to learn, with his showing against the Toffees hardly inspiring confidence.

He may be slight in stature, but he is only fractionally smaller than the man he replaced over the weekend – and Aguero certainly has no trouble outmuscling defenders twice his size.

A man who will be looking to knock on the door to the Spain U21 set-up in the not too distant future must also work on his ball retention, with possession squandered on six occasions and eight physical duels lost.

Time is still on Pozo’s side, though, and he must now get to work in the gym and on the training ground in an effort to show Pellegrini that he is deserving of another opportunity before the 2014/15 campaign comes to a close.

Chris Burton

Chris is a freelance journalist with a passion for all major sports. He has spent much of his career to date focusing on the wonderful world of football, across all levels. He has also had the pleasure of interviewing a diverse mix of sportsmen and women – including Gareth Bale, Frank Lampard, Xabi Alonso, Marcel Desailly, Roy Hodgson, Manu Tuilagi, Jonny Wilkinson, Nicola Adams and Ed Clancy.